Image forming apparatuses are known, provided with such a function as a copying function which forms an image of a document image read by a scanner or a printer function for forming an image of (printing) image data input from an external device such as a PC on a medium such as recording paper. Some image forming apparatuses are provided with a repeat printing function which forms images by repeatedly arranging image data on one sheet of recording paper and a trial printing function which, when forming a single piece of image data into a plurality of images, forms the single piece of image data into an image, first, and subsequently, forms a scheduled quantity of images when an image formation instruction is input.
Concerning the repeat printing function as described above, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-142969 discloses, an arranging method of document images which arranges identical document images effectively on a sheet of paper to be output so as to eliminate a wasteful blank in a function for continuously copying a plurality of document images on the paper.
If users try to check a finished state of the printing with use of the trial printing function as described above, when they perform printing with use of the repeat printing function, the conventional function user one sheet of a recording paper for the trial printing, and therefore, printing is performed all over the recording paper. In this case, since the repeat printing function is set, a plurality of the same images are repeatedly printed on one sheet of the recording paper. Then, in a case where the finish of the printing of the first sheet of the recording paper is not in a state desired by a user and printing is performed again with print conditions changed, the first sheet of the recording paper on which the plurality of images are repeatedly printed is discarded.
In the case of performing the trial printing using the repeat printing function, it is sufficient if a finished state of one image is checked among the plurality of images to be printed repeatedly by the repeat printing. However, such a function is not provided in the conventional function, and even though the trial printing is executed, a plurality of the same images are repeatedly printed on the recording paper, and therefore, sometimes all those printed images go to waste.
According to the arranging method of a document image described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-142969, although its possible to arrange the same images on one sheet of paper efficiently without waste, in this case also, the user is not able to judge whether or not printing is performed in a desired state until the user actually sees a printing result. Then, when the printing result is not in a state desired by the user and the printing is to be performed again, a plurality of the printed images are all useless.